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SER2013
October 6-11, 2013
Madison, Wisconsin |
Renew your SER membership today so you don't miss a single issue of RESTORE! |
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RESTORE is a free bi-weekly e-bulletin provided to current members of SER. RESTORE links you to the latest breaking news stories keeping you up-to-date on a wide variety of topics related to ecological restoration. To contact the editors, please email info@ser.org. |
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SER in the News
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People in the News
By thinking like a social bird, Stephen Kress brought puffins back to the United States. Atlantic puffins were once driven to near-extinction in the United States by hunting and egg collecting. In 1973, Kress and a small group of colleagues went to a puffin breeding colony in Newfoundland. Kress placed some wooden puffin decoys on the island, carefully clustered in groups as if absorbed in conversation. In 1977, a curious puffin landed in the water near the island. The busy colonies off the Maine coast today are the result of a long-running restoration project. It took a tremendous amount of time and effort to turn a heretical idea into the noisy, messy, thriving reality of the Maine puffin colonies-and it takes even more work to keep that reality in place.
For 60 years, Wysor Smith Jr. has listened for the mating call of the bobwhite quail, as a hunter and now as a conservationist. But over the decades since the 1970s, as farms have wooded over or sprouted crops of houses and businesses, the "bob-WHITE" call has faded, and in places disappeared. Through state and federal programs, however, Smith and his family are restoring quail-friendly native grasslands on their 550-acre Craig County farm. He only wishes he'd done it sooner. Today, Smith's family is doing selective logging of trees that have grown up since the 1950s, and reestablishing native grasses on about 80 acres in hopes of luring wild quail back to the land. |
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New Books & Articles
Conservationists in Conflict
Many ecologists seek to restore damaged ecosystems to their original states, but others argue they are being 'unrealistically nostalgic' and that invading species open up new ecosystems. The phrases scientists choose to portray natural phenomena can shape our perceptions of the world, and affect crucial decisions made by policy-makers. The "novel ecosystems" theory, energetically promoted by a group of influential ecologists in recent years, is a case in point. The theory's advocates say they are simply describing unprecedented changes in ecosystems, and warning of their consequences. Their critics claim that the way they have characterized these changes could have a disastrous impact on environmental policy.
As Forest Carbon Credit Market Grows, REDD Fails To Keep Pace
Forest carbon credits reached a record market value in 2011, but the market for credits generated under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) mechanism fell sharply, as new projects were slower-than-expected to develop and faced political and economic headwinds, reports a new assessment of the global forest carbon market published by Ecosystem Marketplace. The report, titled Leveraging the Landscape: State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2012, tracked transactions in the forest carbon market, which includes credits generated through four types of projects: REDD, afforestation/reforestation (A/R), Improved Forest Management (IFM), and Sustainable Agricultural Land Use (SALM). |
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Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Irrititja - The Past: Antikirrinya History from Ingomar Station and Beyond
Wanting to develop a simplified process of writing Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara language and document the tjamula kamila arangka, 'the ways of the grandparents,' authors Ingkama Bobby Brown and Dr. Petter Atilla Naessan worked together to produce 'Irrititja- The Past.' Antikirrinya elder Ingkama Bobby Brown was taught traditional language by family members as he grew up in South Australia and was taught by the late ethnomusicologist Cath Ellis at the University of Adelaide. Dr. Petter Naessan, a linguist from Norway who is now a Research Associate in Linguistics at the University of Adelaide, worked with Brown at the university for many years before collaborating the produce this new work. |
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Agro-Ecology
Bottom-Up Agroforestry in DPR Korea Goes from Strength To Strength
A revolutionary approach to restoring landscapes and providing food security to people living off sloping lands in the DPR Korea is paying off. A new article in Agroforestry Systems looks at how a pilot agroforestry project, which aimed to restore degraded land for environmental protection while providing food, fodder and other products to farmers and user groups, is now influencing national policy and seeing agroforestry added to university curricula. The article, titled 'Participatory agroforestry development for restoring degraded sloping land in DPR Korea' was published recently in Agroforestry Systems.
Farmers Help Tiger Conservation Efforts in India
Smallholder farmers living on the fringes of a tiger sanctuary in southern India found themselves in a lurch after it was declared a protected area in the early 1960s. But thanks to an innovative agroforestry program, today the villagers have enough of these and other products for use and sale-with no need to pull from the plush canopy of the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.
Kenya: Experts Rally For Agroforestry, Commercial Tree Farming
In 2010 and 2009, Kenya lost 5.8 billion Kenya shillings (US$68 million) and 6.6 billion shillings ($77 million), respectively, to deforestation, a new report released by the government and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reveals. In calculating the losses, the researchers took into account: the effect of decreased river flow on irrigation; the incidence of malaria resulting from deforestation; the loss of productive soils caused by erosion; the effect of reduced water quality on inland fishing; and the above-ground carbon storage value lost. "The government must start to give incentives to farmers to [plant more] trees on their farms [rather] than solely concentrating on protecting government-owned forests" said David Ngugi, director of the Kenya Forest Services. |
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Forest Restoration
The provincial government will work on restoring forests and watersheds around Ilocos Norte to prevent frequent flooding in flood-prone towns. The province has partnered with the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro) to create a local greening program called "Pasantaken ti Ilocos Norte" (Cultivating or Building Ilocos Norte), an off-shoot of the national government's National Greening Program. Juan de los Reyes, provincial environment and natural resources officer, said the program involves two aspects: one is reforestation, the other is to create livelihood out of seedling production and vermiculture or organic fertilizer-production.
Kenya should seize a unique opportunity provided by the new constitution and public opinion to reverse deforestation in the nation's water towers, which deprives the economy of almost six billion shillings ($US 70 million) annually and threatens more than 70% of the water supply, delegates said at the end of a high-level dialogue in Nairobi. The Role and Contribution of Montane Forests and Related Ecosystem Services to the Kenyan Economy found that forests contribute to a wide range of sectors, accounting for 3.6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared to the current official figure of 1.1%. Kenya's new constitution calls for an increase in forest cover to 10%, which, coupled with an increasing public demand to halt and reverse deforestation. |
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River & Watershed Restoration
Louisiana: New Land Created In Nearby Wax Lake Delta
Something amazing is happening just a few dozen miles from the Terrebonne Parish border, deep in the Atchafalaya River basin. Thousands of acres of new delta are being born from the river in a creation process that has abandoned most of the rest of the state. Instead of the skeletal trees and stressed, eroded marshlands of neighboring Terrebonne and Lafourche, St. Mary Parish's Wax Lake Delta is a productive jungle of marsh, waterfowl ponds, healthy freshwater bayous and towering willow trees. What's even more amazing is that this entire coastal rebirth was created by accident.
California: 'Complicit' San Francisco Voters Reject Plan To Restore Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy
In San Francisco a local initiative put forth by environmentalists to return the Hetch Hetchy Valley to Yosemite Park for restoration by expanding the lower Don Pedro Dam was soundly defeated by voters. The valley's destruction, the brainchild of San Francisco industrialists who falsely claimed to congress the city burned after the 1906 earthquake due to a lack of available water supply, has been called the greatest environmental wrong over water rights in California's ongoing battles over the precious resource.
Louisiana: Biologists Release Thousands of Fish into Pearl River in Spill Recovery Effort
After a three-hour journey in a fish tank on a truck, thousands of young bluegills disappeared into the West Pearl River in St. Tammany Parish on Wednesday in a matter of seconds. In small batches, state wildlife officials released 200,000 bluegills -- raised at a state hatchery in Alexandria - into the river near Interstate 59 as part of an ongoing restoration effort from an industrial spill last year. The Temple-Inland paper mill in Bogalusa discharged a paper-making byproduct known as "black liquor" into the river, depleting oxygen and killing more than a half-million fish and mussels. |
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Desertification & Arid Land Restoration
Korean Air says it will plant 80,000 trees in N China's Kubuqi desert. More than 65 employees from the South Korean flagship carrier Korean Air headed for the Kubuqi desert in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region in October to plant trees on a big scale. Korean Air announced that it will plant 80,000 trees annually on 240,000 square meters of land in the Kubuqi desert during the next five years. This year is the sixth consecutive year Korean Air is planting trees in the desert and signals the beginning of a second round of a program aimed at improving the environment of the area to curb further desertification.
Massachusetts: Desert Natural Area to be Restored
Dramatic changes are coming soon to the Desert Natural Area with a plan to restore rare pitch pine-scrub oak barrens habitat through extensive clearing and controlled burning. The clearing is the first phase of a major habitat restoration project that has been in the planning stages for the past three years by the property landowners. The second phase will occur in the fall of 2013, with a controlled burn on the 12-acre section. |
Lake Restoration
Michigan: Program To Boost Great Lakes Cleanup Research
The University of Michigan is establishing a research program designed to make sure the federal government bases decisions in its billion-dollar battle to clean up the Great Lakes on solid science, officials said. Some of the region's leading researchers say it should have a stronger scientific foundation to make sure it produces long-term, system-wide solutions, not just temporary fixes in particular locations. That will be the primary goal of the new University of Michigan Water Center during its initial three-year phase, when it will be supported by grants of $4.5 million each from the university and the Frederick A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation.
China: Lake Aibi Shrinks As Desertification Rises
China faces a losing battle to restore Lake Aibi's ecosystem due to worsening desertification in the region of the salt lake, officials say. The large lake in northwestern China's Gobi region sits in an internally draining, salt-rich basin near the border of Xinjiang-Uighur province and Kazakhstan. It has been shrinking at more than 15 square miles a year because of encroaching desert. The problem has not been solved despite efforts to restore the area's ecosystem in the past decade, said Gao Xiang, head of the Lake Aibi wetland reserve administration.
Iowa: Black Hawk Down: Iowa Poisoning Lake to Restore It
Black Hawk Lake is on the cusp of the largest Iowa lake renovation in more than a quarter century. The 922-acre natural lake, suffering from poor water quality, a large carp population and a cyclical fishery in decline, will have its fish population eliminated on Nov. 8. The drought of 2012 reduced the lake volume by nearly 45% and made the renovation possible. Black Hawk Lake will be fish-free during the winter of 2012-13 as the chemical slowly detoxifies in the cold water. It will be the first winter in more than 30 years that the aeration system will not be running. |
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Coastal & Marine Restoration
US: Geologist Calls for Advances in Restoration Sedimentology
Rapid advances in the new and developing field of restoration sedimentology will be needed to protect the world's river deltas from an array of threats, Indiana University Bloomington geologist Douglas A. Edmonds writes in the journal Nature Geoscience. "There's a lot of talk about ecological restoration of the coast," Edmonds said. "But with delta environments, before ecological restoration can happen you have to stabilize the coastline."
US: Gulf Oil Spill Early Restoration Plan to Focus on Bird and Turtle Habitat
The Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) trustees (Trustees) have released the Deepwater Horizon Phase II Draft Early Restoration Plan & Environmental Review (DERP/ER) for public review and comment. The plan includes two proposed projects totaling about $9 million that focus on restoring nesting habitat for birds and sea turtles. |
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Extractive Industries
Massachusetts: River Restoration Project will Help River Damaged by Holyoke Coal Tar Wastes
Three river restoration projects are being implemented after state and federal environmental officials awarded the projects with $353,000 from a 2004 settlement for coal tar contamination to the Connecticut River in Holyoke. The funds will support the removal of a dam on a Connecticut River tributary, the completion of a structure to move fish around a dam on a second tributary, and the monitoring of rare freshwater mussels in the Connecticut River and its tributaries. |
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Urban Restoration
Australia: Native Street Trees Can Boost Birds' Survival
As native birds continue to lose their homes due to the spread of the Australia's cities, scientists are urging city planners and householders to help save them by planting more Australian trees. A world-first study in the Australian national capital shows that the amount of native trees on suburban streets has a big effect on the numbers and types of birds in the area. Scientists found that more than 30% native tree have 11% more bird species of all types than those with exotic street trees. The researchers surveyed 66 bird species at 40 locations across Canberra and grouped native birds by their tolerance of urbanization. |
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Get Involved
California: Applied Watershed Restoration Course- Nov 27-Dec 1
SER-Australasia: Inaugural Conference -Nov 28-30
Florida: ACES and Ecosystem Markets 2012- December 10-14
SER-Ontario: SERO 2013 Scholarship Opportunity- Due December 14, 2012
SERO is offering students involved in ecological restoration who are enrolled in local Ontario colleges, or undergraduate programs, a $2,000 scholarship opportunity. To apply send in a paper application and letters of reference by December 14, 2012. Applications are available here.
Northern California Botanists 2013 Symposium- January 14-15
SER-BC: Bio-Engineering Workshop- Nov 22-23
SER-BC: Restoration in the Fraser Valley- November 22-25
SER BC: Annual General Meeting- November 24
SER BC: Field trip of Fraser Valley Restoration Sites- November 25
Webinar: Watershed Restoration Analysis and Integration with Urban Planning- Dec 6
Thurs., Dec. 6th @ 2 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. PST, 1-1.5hr. The webinar costs $79 USD. Join Paul Crabtree, P.E., CNU-A, to explore the importance of conducting a watershed restoration analysis prior to planning, as well as how to design, implement, and assess this analysis to identify comprehensive and effective strategies and solutions for integrating rainwater practice with capital improvement plans and urban planning.
Special Issue of Forests: "Forest Restoration and Regeneration"-Deadline February 2013
Colorado: River Crossings: Linking River Communities - March 11-15, 2013
This is an interagency river management workshop and research conference where presentations, panels, and field trips will highlight recent advances and emerging issues in riparian restoration and river management practices.
New Mexico: National Native Seed Conference- April 9-12, 2013
International Conference on Ecology and Transportation (ICOET) 2013- June 23-27, 2013
Rwanda: Ramsar Forum - Wetlands and Livelihoods- July 8-12, 2013
Nevada: Resilient Landscapes: Planning for Floor, Drought & Fire- July 21-24, 2013
2013 International Congress for Conservation Biology- July 21-25, 2013
SER2013: 5th World Conference on Ecological Restoration- October 6-11, 2013
SER will hold its 5th World Conference on Ecological Restoration in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, on October 6-11, 2013. This event marks the 25th Anniversary of SER and will celebrate the conference theme of "Reflections on the Past, Directions for the Future."
2012 Conference Listing on the Global Restoration Network (GRN) |
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Funding Opportunities
Restoring Rivers: Stream Barrier Removal Grants Due December 7, 2012
Since 2001, American Rivers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Community-based Restoration Program have provided financial and technical assistance for river restoration projects benefiting diadromous fish species in the Northeast and California. Applications are being evaluated based upon the following priority criteria: (1) ecological merits of the project, (2) technical feasibility of the project, (3) timeliness in completion of funded phase; (4) benefits provided to the local community, and (5) financial clarity and strength of the application. Grants are provided for three distinct project phases: Construction, Engineering Design and Feasibility Analysis. The maximum award request is $150,000.
The state of Vermont is taking applications for grants to help protect and restore the state's watersheds. This year, $120,000 is available for grants of up to $15,000. The money is available to municipalities, government agencies and nonprofit and citizen groups for work such as protecting or restoring water quality, shorelines or fish and wildlife habitats. The deadline to apply is Dec. 7. An application guide and forms are available on the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources web site.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) requests interested entities to submit restoration, research and Regional Project proposals for the restoration of the Great Lakes Basin fish and wildlife resources, as authorized under the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act (16 USC 941c). The purpose of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act (GLFWRA) is to provide assistance to States, Indian Tribes, and other interested entities to encourage cooperative conservation, restoration and management of the fish and wildlife resources and their habitats in the Great Lakes Basin. Pre-proposals and Regional Project proposals are due on Monday, December 17, 2012 by 9:00 PM EST.
The Whole Watershed Restoration Initiative is a public-private competitive grant program that focuses on salmon habitat restoration efforts in areas of high ecological importance in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Started in 2007, the Whole Watershed Restoration Initiative (WWRI) is a partnership between Ecotrust, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, USDA Forest Service, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Restoration Center, the Bureau of Land Management and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. Each of the state and federal agency partners contributes restoration dollars to the Initiative. Ecotrust then makes this pooled fund available as grants to local groups for on-the-ground restoration work. Proposals for 2013 funding are now being accepted. Applications are due by December 17, 2012 at 5:00 pm PST.
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is providing assistance to local governments starting in Clark, King, and Pierce counties that want to improve the health of their urban forests. Other cities or counties may apply for the same type of projects. The Urban Forestry Restoration Project is an exciting opportunity to increase the health of urban forests in the Puget Sound Basin and southwest Washington areas. The project will help to enhance effectiveness of urban forests in managing stormwater and improving water quality. DNR's Urban and Community Forestry Program will provide crews from Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) and Puget SoundCorps to assist city and county governments with urban forestry activities that help restore urban forests. Projects may be submitted for assistance through December 31, 2012. All projects must completed by June 30, 2013.
US DOD Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP)- Due January 8, 2013
The Department of Defense's (DoD) Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) is seeking to fund environmental research and development proposals. SERDP is DoD's environmental science and technology program, planned and executed in partnership with the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, with participation by numerous other Federal and non-Federal organizations. The Program invests across the broad spectrum of basic and applied research, as well as advanced development. Proposals responding to focused Statements of Need (SON) are requested in the following areas: environmental restoration and Resource Conservation and Climate Change among others.
US: DEP Grants to Restore & Protect Coastal Zones in Pennsylvania- 2013 Applications Open
The Department of Environmental Protection has awarded more than $900,000 in annual coastal zone management grants to organizations dedicated to protecting and preserving Pennsylvania's coastal zones along Lake Erie and the Delaware Estuary. The agency is now accepting applications for 2013. Coastal zone management grants support programs that measure the impact of various pollution sources; improve public access; preserve habitats; and educate the public about the benefits of the state's coastal zones.
US: Conservation Reserve Program Initiative to Restore Grasslands, Wetlands and Wildlife
USDA's CRP has a 25-year legacy of successfully protecting the nation's natural resources through voluntary participation, while providing significant economic and environmental benefits to rural communities across the United States. Rather than wait for a general sign-up (the process under which most CRP acres are enrolled), producers whose land meet eligibility criteria can enroll directly in this "continuous" category at any time.
US: Emergency Forest Restoration Program
USDA Farm Service Agency's (FSA) Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) provides payments to eligible owners of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) land in order to carry out emergency measures to restore land damaged by a natural disaster.
Earth Island Institute: Supporting community-based wetland restoration initiatives
Through the Small Grants Program, Earth Island Institute has been able to support locally based restoration efforts to do just that. Small grassroots efforts to restore the coastal habitats of Southern California, which have been depleted by an astounding 98%, have been slowly working to bring our wetlands back from the brink of extinction. By supporting and empowering the new restoration leaders, we ensure our collective success in restoring some of the earth's most fragile ecosystems.
The Gulf of Mexico Foundation's Community-based Restoration Partnership Funding for the 2012 cycle of the Gulf of Mexico Foundation's Community-based Restoration Partnership (CRP) is now available. The CRP has reached a milestone by providing grants for now more than 75 different projects in coastal areas throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Restoring a total of about 15,000 acres over the past decade, these CRP projects have improved a wide variety of habitat types, including coastal dunes, coral reefs, oyster reefs, marshes, seagrass beds, mangrove forests and artificial reefs.
Terra Viva Grants develops and manages information about grants for agriculture, energy, environment, and natural resources in the world's developing countries.
California: Ecosystem Restoration on Agricultural Lands (ERAL)
Grant funding applications are accepted on a year-round basis. The WCB meets four times each year, normally in February, May, August, and November to consider approval of funding for projects.
Tamarisk Related Grant Opportunities
The Tamarisk Coalition has developed a list of available Grant Opportunities to address tamarisk issues and riparian restoration. This list was revised as part of the Colorado River Basin Tamarisk and Russian Olive Assessment. |
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